Hybrid Car Review

In a story I first saw at autoblog.com, research recently done by CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore. found that Hummers take less energy per mile than hybrid vehicles? Story over at USNews.

It seems it takes more energy to produce hybrid cars than a gas only car. With its more complicated design and because it has more parts in its engine, the energy needed to create a hybrid is more costly than for simpler cars, such as the Jeep Wrangler. Hybrids also have oversized batteries that adds to disposal costs at the end of its life.

Using hundreds of variables, CNW Marketing reduced the energy equation into a cost per mile for over 300 cars. The average cost to drive was $2.28. All five hybrids analyzed fell below that average.

This doesn't change the cost equation for the consumer. Despite the higher sticker price, you can save money by buying a hybrid over the lifetime of the car.